Sr. Co-Minister

Position Overview:

You’ll be a great fit for this position if you are called to the organizational, relational, and community-facing dimensions of congregational life (i.e., Ministers who combine pastoral care with organizational skills and a passion for justice in action). Strong candidates will bring experience in pastoral care, congregational care systems, administration, staff and volunteer leadership, and community-engaged justice work.

At Central, the Co-Pastors serve as peers, with no hierarchy implied by preaching load, staff supervision, or ministry assignment. Both pastors will share in preaching, leading worship, and strategic planning, while also attending to defined areas of responsibility.

The church seeks a minister who is authorized or willing to seek authorization in the United Church of Christ and open to exploring with candidates from other denominations and backgrounds.

Primary Responsibilities

The co-pastor called to this role will focus on several core areas:

Proactive Pastoral Care

• Carry primary responsibility for proactive pastoral care ministry: hospital and home visits, cards, calls, emails, and proactive outreach to members facing illness, grief, loss, and life transitions.
• Build and lead a systematic pastoral care program that partners with the Deacons, Care Team, and lay volunteers; ensure no one slips through the cracks.
• Develop support groups, lay visitor training, and care coordination systems (including documentation of needs and support provided).
• Maintain basic mental health literacy and a current referral network for counseling and community resources.

·      Note: We are segmenting out proactive pastoral care from those seeking spiritual counseling (congregants will seek out either pastor for spiritual guidance).

Member Engagement

• Coordinate congregational life engagement: potlucks, community events, fellowship programming, member outreach and connection.
• Lead preparation and distribution of communication efforts such as weekly and monthly newsletter, worship bulletins

Community Mission & Justice Work

• Serve as primary ministerial liaison to the Mission and Action Board; help the board develop a more strategic, coordinated approach to mission and advocacy work.
• Represent Central in the broader Atlanta community and with mission partners; develop and sustain partnerships with nonprofits, advocacy organizations, and community groups.
• Connect Central’s ONA and JustPeace commitments to concrete, coordinated community action.

·      Note: This role will also include leadership over and coaching responsibility for the Director of Plymouth Harbor, an adult day care stand-alone ministry of the church. However, there is a strong Board in place and the Pastor does not have to be directly involved in program operations, but should stay connected with the director on a regular basis, attend Board meetings and participate occasionally in programming.

Building & Office Administration

• Provide direct supervision and coaching to our Administrative & Communications Coordinator (1) and our Facilities Coordinator (1)
• Provide oversight for office function – e.g., supplies, bills, vendors, equipment
• Provide oversight for facilities usage (contracting, scheduling, set-up) and on-going Sunday set-up.
• Manage building use relationships, including tenants (Turning Sun Preschool, Interfaith Children Movement), partners (Bet Haverim), and community users (e.g., Mushroom Club, Atlanta Freedom Bands).
• Serve as on-site eyes and ears for facilities maintenance – address or coordinate and liaise with Trustees to respond to urgent situations and coordinate regular and planned maintenance projects
• Serve as liaison to Board of Trustees (finance and facilities) regarding routine operations, unexpected repairs, regular and deferred maintenance, cleaning, building use policy, etc.

·      Note: Technology is a key aspect of office operations (e.g., member database, email/communications platform). It is also a key aspect of Worship (i.e., service streaming via Zoom and YouTube). The responsibility for Technology strategy and staff supervision will reside with Co-Pastor Thomas. Co-Pastor TBC will liaison with Co-Pastor Thomas regarding technology strategy, implementation, issues and functionality.

About Atlanta

Atlanta is a city where ambition, culture, and genuine warmth pulse through everyday life. Here, you can immerse yourself in a world-class music scene, from top tier theaters to joy-filled festivals. Wander through our bustling food halls and enjoy a culinary landscape stretching from global flavors to classic Southern comfort.

Atlanta is the Southeast’s major economic hub, providing strong career pathways across industries such as healthcare, technology, film, logistics, and higher education. Atlanta’s diversity fosters rich relationships, while its strong tradition of preaching, rooted in the legacy of the civil rights movement, gives ministry here a unique sense of purpose.

Most church members live “ITP” (in the perimeter of the I-285 loop) This includes the cities of Atlanta, Brookhaven, Chamblee, Decatur, and Doraville.

Contact

Search Committee:  Pastoralsearch@central-ucc.org

www.central-ucc.org